The Republican-led Arkansas General
Assembly on Friday approved a non-binding resolution calling on the
state Supreme Court to uphold the state's ban on gay marriage.

According to the Stuttgart
Daily Leader, the Arkansas Legislative Council, which
includes members of both legislative chambers, approved the
resolution introduced by Republican Senator Jason Rapert.

Over 500 gay and lesbian couples
married last month after Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza
struck down Arkansas' 2004 ban as unconstitutional. The weddings
came to an end when the Arkansas Supreme Court granted the state a
stay in the ruling pending an appeal.

In urging for its passage, Rapert told
legislators to respect the wishes of voters, who approved the
amendment by a 3-1 margin.

“There is no branch of this
government that's more important than the people,” Rapert said.

A procedural vote blocked the
resolution from advancing in the council last month.

Rapert, who has also called for
Piazza's
removal from the bench, said it was appropriate to limit marriage
to heterosexual couples in the name of “procreative love.”

A rally featuring several of the
couples who married last moth was held on Sunday to protest the
resolution's passage. At least one couple wore matching black
t-shirts printed with a graphic of an Arkansas outline and the words
“married y'all” surrounding an equal sign.